Ian's Moving Castle
by xEllie97
Summary: AU: Amy Cahill thinks she's not pretty. Therefore, she doesn't fear the heartless Wizard Ian, who only victimizes pretty girls. However, she soon finds herself in an adventure with him, trying to break a spell she has been put under. At the same time, she has to solve the mystery behind the wizard's lack of heart. And there are also those growing feelings for him...
1. Sisterly Trouble

In the prosperous city of Market Chipping, located in the north of the country of Ingary, it was getting pretty common to see Ian's moving castle in the bright, blue sky.

Amy Cahill observed the castle with awe from her workshed in the back of her family's clothing shop. Setting her needle down, her green eyes followed the marvelous castle. She was not familiar with magic. After all, the witchcraft apprentice in the house was her older stepsister, Sinead. But she was aware of the very feared twenty-four-year-old wizard that inhabited the castle. Yes, it was the heart-eating wizard, Ian Kabra. Word had it that he lured pretty girls into falling in love with him. And after having them wrapped around his finger, with one swift magic trick, he was already eating their hearts. Unlike most girls, she didn't feel scared about the castle. After all, Wizard Ian only ate _pretty_ girls' hearts. And Amy knew she was not pretty. She did feel sorrow for the girls, though. Most of the victims knew about Wizard Ian's ways, yet, they were still vulnerable to his tricks.

"Are you still working, Amy?" a sweet voice asked from the entrance of the shop.

After a few minutes, the curtain separating her workshed from the rest of the house and successful shop was slid open. A beautiful woman appeared right in front of her.

"Hello, Isabel," Amy greeted, resuming her previous work. She was nearly done with Mrs. Spasky's gown, and was feeling proud of how it was turning out to be. The only thing she enjoyed of herself was her way with the needle.

Amy's stepmother sighed, not pleased. "Amy, I thought you said you weren't coming to Cesari's because you felt ill. And here I find you, working your soul off."

Amy remained silent, suddenly finding the color of Irina's dress alluring. It wasn't really due to the reason that the royal blue was such a gorgeous color. But because Amy had lied to Isabel. She hadn't gone with them because she didn't really like to go out and have people look at her.

Isabel set a pink and white striped box down on her desk. Amy instantly recognized the box from the city's famous bakery, Cesari's.

"Don't let mom think she picked it out!" Reagan, her youngest stepsister, exclaimed. She ran inside the room. "_I _did." The fifteen-year-old grabbed the box from the table, and gave it back to Amy. "I hope you enjoy it."

Amy smiled, giving her blonde sister a thankful bow of the head. "I'm sure I will." Amy sniffed the air. "Is that almond cake I smell?"

"Your favorite," Reagan replied, smiling proudly.

Amy opened the box, admiring the pastry inside. She'd always loved Cesari's almond cake. Suddenly, she remembered about two very loved ones of her. She looked around, frowning in curiosity. "I'm sure Sinead and Natalie went out with you…did Natalie convince Sinead to accompany her on a shopping spree?"

Isabel's and Reagan's eyes darkened.

Amy instantly knew something was wrong. Her hunch was verified when she heard the shop's door slam shut.

Natalie slid the curtain open, looking disheveled and miserable. Once she stepped foot inside, she broke into inconsolable wails.

"I thought he loved me!" she shrieked, burying her face in her hands.

"Oh, Natalie," Amy began. "What's wrong?"

Natalie was far too enthralled into crying to even reply.

Amy was quite shocked. Those tears didn't look like the ones normally produced whenever Natalie threw one of her hissy fits. They looked genuine.

Reagan was subconsciously playing with Amy's spoon as she spoke up. "Nikolai…"

Amy perked up at this. Nikolai Spasky was Natalie's love interest ever since the girl had turned eleven. Nikolai was just a year older than Natalie, Amy's age, and was the Spasky's son, heir of the famous library near Cesari's. Amy was more than sure that Nikolai reciprocated Natalie's feelings.

"What happened?" Amy asked.

Sinead appeared behind Natalie, a letter in her hands.

"We just found out that Nikolai is getting married," Isabel announced softly, looking down sadly. "In fact, the dress you're making for her is the one she'll use in the wedding."

Amy gasped. Nikolai…married?

Reagan angrily munched down a bite of Amy's cake. There was a flame of rage in her blue eyes, the one that usually appeared whenever something happened to her sisters. "It's an arranged marriage with that girl from my ballet class, Madison. She is just as frustrated by it as Nikolai and Natalie are. And I'm just as frustrated, too. In fact, I wholeheartedly oppose the marriage!"

Natalie was now sitting in a chair, bent down in painful sobs. Isabel was standing right next to her, caressing her daughter's back as she tried to sooth her.

"Well," Sinead spoke up. She flung the letter in her hand up in the air, and turned it into ashes. Sinead, even though Isabel was not pleased, became an apprentice of Mrs. Fairfax, one of the wizard teachers in Ingary, a year ago. "I think you should move on."

The letter happened to be a message from Nikolai to Natalie. The ashes that were once the letter fell down to the ground. Natalie gasped, jumping up to her feet.

"Sinead! I hadn't read that letter!" Natalie shrieked, running toward the ashes. "Please, turn it back to its previous state."

"No can do," Sinead quipped. Her eyes were a glassy green, as if Sinead had no feelings.

Natalie seemed desperate. "Please! I need to know his feelings."

Sinead scoffed, chuckling bitterly. "Natalie, stop overdramatizing. If Nikolai didn't oppose the marriage, it's because he doesn't love you anymore. In fact, maybe he never did!"

Natalie remained silent.

"Maybe all this time you were clinging on to some fairytale fantasy," Sinead added. "Sinead!" Isabel exclaimed, quite shocked.

Natalie gazed at her sister, betrayal written in her eyes, before she ran out of the workshed. Amy heard her footsteps as she ran up the stairs, obviously to lock herself up inside the bedroom and cry her pretty eyes out.

"That was rude," Isabel told her oldest daughter.

Sinead raised her chin up in a sign of defiance. "She has to face the reality."

"Well, I don't think that is the reality," Isabel replied, frowning.

Amy stood up. "I'll go check up on Natalie."

But before she could make her way upstairs, she felt Isabel's warm hand on her shoulder.

"I'll go," Isabel informed her. "I know you usually calm down your sisters, but this seems more like the job of a mother."

Amy tried to oppose, but one look at Isabel's determined eyes shut her up.

"Alright," Amy quietly answered.

Isabel nodded. She signaled at the workshed, where Sinead and Reagan lingered. "I suggest you talk to Sinead about her previous behavior. Maybe you can make her realize how wrong she was."

"Of course," Amy replied.

Isabel gazed with worry at the workshed before making her way upstairs. Once she was gone, Amy returned to her workshed.

"Sinead, I need to talk to you," Amy said.

"Not now," Sinead replied. She seemed to be gathering her stuff. "I need to practice some spells Mrs. Fairfax taught me."

"Please, hear me out-"

"If it's about Natalie," Sinead cut in. She handed Amy a few coins. "Go and buy her a new fancy hat from my part and tell her sorry."

"I think that's something you should personally do," Amy said.

"I will," Sinead assured her. "But not now…please Amy, if I don't learn my spells I'll flunk my exam."

"I don't think that's possible for you," Reagan added.

Sinead ignored Reagan. She sighed. "I'll admit it, I was a little harsh on Natalie. So just let me practice my tricks."

"Fine," Amy replied after hesitating.

"Thank you." Sinead smiled. And with that, the girl ran up to her bedroom.

Amy shook her head. She agreed with Isabel about magic changing Sinead. When she first started practicing magic, the redhead was still the same smarth girl. But soon, she began to get greedy and ambitious, wanting to become the most powerful and rich wizard in the world. And then one day, she came in late, assuring the family that she'd lost the train from Tulip Hill, Market Chipping's privileged neighborhood and Mrs. Fairfax's mansion's location, back to Hatterville, the commercial part of the city where their house and shop was found. But Amy couldn't help notice the difference in Sinead's eyes. They were empty. Ever since then, on some occasions (such as the previous one), Sinead exposed an attitude that sometimes gave Amy the impression that Sinead had lost her heart. As if Wizard Ian had eaten it.

"Reagan, would you like me to escort you back to your job?" Amy asked Regan, who had by then finished her cake. "I'm going back to Cesari's to buy something for Natalie, and I believe you recently started working there."

Reagan shook her head. "Mr. Oh gave me the afternoon off."

"Alright, then," Amy replied. "I'll be back soon."

"I'll take care of the shop!" Reagan exclaimed as Amy left.

Once outside, Amy took in a deep breath, trying to assure her that nobody would glance at such an ugly thing as her. After all, she'd picked up her hair up in a tight braid, her hat hid most of her face, and she was wearing her usual grey dress. Nothing out of the ordinary should happen that day.

But of course, she couldn't expect the meeting she'd have with two very well known wizards.

* * *

**A/N:** What? Isabel...a good person? According to this story, yes. And, no, I'm not out of my mind. I just couldn't find anyone else fit to be Amy's stepmother. And yes, Madison and Reagan are not related in this story.

Hello, and thank you for reading my story :) The amazing idea of this fanfiction is taken from a fabulous book and movie, Howl's Moving Castle. I saw that many writers in this archive are fans of that novel, so I thought that it wouldn't be wrong to make a 39 Clues AU version. Of course, this version will have a few twists. Note: some of the names are also taken from the book. Also, the..._thing_ in the story's cover is actually the castle from both the book and movie (pretty rare, huh? LOL). So, that's Ian's moving castle.

Amy's story will be explained further next chapter. I just didn't want this to become too long, so I had to cut that part out. Also, when you picture the characters in your mind, try to see them dressed as in the 1800s. Now, I'm sorry for the length of this author's note :S I just wanted to explain those...but well, I'm finally done. I hope you liked it!

P.S. I have not read the second 39 Clue series, so don't expect some of the new characters to appear in this :P


	2. Magic's in the Air

Amy sighed, making her way down the crowded street. She was gripping a middle-sized box in her hand, which contained Cesari's best pastries: their angelic and fluffy vanilla cake, their heavenly chocolate cake covered in white chocolate fondue, and their famous petit fours, often nicknamed 'bites of paradise'.

All around her, women chattered on about their brand new dresses. Girls giggled and flirted with young soldiers, who couldn't help but smile back at the pretty ladies. Children exclaimed with joy every time they passed Alistair Oh's –also the owner of Cesari's –magic toyshop. Yes, 'busy', 'loud' and 'festive' were words that described Market Chipping to utmost perfection.

Amy tried to look past the commercial buildings and into the vast, green hills that rolled all the way to the horizon. There was once a time, when Amy lived in South of Ingary, when she was an inhabitant of beautiful mountains such as those. She remembered with glee laying down on the soft grass, surrounded by flowers of all sizes and colors as she stared up at the blue skies, and the peace and quiet that surrounded her. It was beautiful to live in such a place. Before she turned eleven, her mother, Hope Cahill, her father, Arthur, her kitty and her used to live in a quaint log house up in the highest mountain from the hilly South. Her stepsisters usually asked her if it got lonely, but Amy could honestly say that it never did. She did go down the mountain to attend school whenever it wasn't winter or summer break, and she had three or four neighbors, after all.

A light breeze pleasantly swept by, momentarily making her feel as if she lived back in Ridge's Hill. Yes, those were some pleasant eleven years she spent there. It wasn't until her mother got ill and left to a better place, that all began to change.

Her father became a successful businessman, and had to travel to many places of Ingary, leaving Amy behind to the care of her Aunt Beatrice. The blue-haired lady made Amy's life far the opposite of pleasant. Besides reminding her everyday of how unattractive the girl was, she treated Amy like a servant. It wasn't until her mother's cousin, Isabel Cahill, came from the North that things began to brighten up.

Her father remarried, and Amy was given three new stepsisters: Sinead, the eldest, currently twenty-one. With her dark green eyes and long, red locks, she was considered a fair beauty. She had inherited traits from Isabel's diseased husband, which was why she didn't look anything like Isabel. And then there was Natalie, currently eighteen, who was an exact copy of her mother. Amber eyes, glowing olive-colored skin, and glossy black hair, she was considered an exotic beauty. In fact, most people confused her with an Easterner, since people who lived by that tropical area shared common looks with Natalie. And finally, Reagan. Isabel had adopted the blue-eyed blonde a small while after Arthur died, which was exactly five years ago, when Amy had just turned fourteen.

Shaking away all the hurtful thoughts, Amy focused on their successful clothing shop. She couldn't say she didn't enjoy making dresses, hats, shoes, gloves, scarves, coats, etc., every kind of clothing that there could exist. But of course, it sometimes got lonely. So she had acquired a habit to talk to her creations, making up a story for each. And surprisingly, those stories always turned out to be true. She could remember her very first hat, a cream-colored beauty with a deep purple ribbon. It was simple, yet sophisticated. Amy had told it that it was so gracious, it could easily become the Queen of North's. And just a few hours after she said that, her Highnesses, who'd been visiting from the royal capital, Kingsbury, appeared in her doorstep. Queen Mary Todd had spotted the hat from the window, and wanted to buy it. Amy smiled as she remembered her surprise and flattery when Queen Mary Todd had bought it.

Her memories were cut short when she bumped into a man's chest.

The man chuckled. "Woah!"

Amy gasped, as she nearly dropped the delicious pastries.

However, the man was quick and grabbed the box before it could fall. "There, there."

Amy panted out a breath, shocked and happy that the food hadn't fallen down. As she inspected the striped box for any injuries, her eyes landed on her hand, which, as it gripped the box, was also gripping the man's hand. Blushing, she jerked it back.

"I'm so sorry," she breathed out. She looked up at the man, who was staring down at her with playful amber eyes. With his olive-colored skin, jet-black hair and good looks, he sort of reminded her of Isabel and Natalie. But not quite. This man seemed mischievous. And just by looking at his expression, she knew that he was very aware of his handsome appearance.

"It's alright," he replied, still holding the box. He gazed at Amy before his smile grew into a grin. "You seem startled. It would be a good idea if I took you home."

Amy automatically shook her head, flustered at his proposal. In Market Chipping, those were the usual words whenever a boy wanted to court a girl. "N-no. I couldn't." She took the box from his hands. "I'm sorry to bump into you, uh…I'll get going." With one final glance at the man, she left.

As she hurried away, she could still feel his eyes on her. She began to feel slightly guilty. Had she been too rude? Maybe he wanted to take her home because he was genuinely concerned, not for love purposes. After all, why would such a good-looking young man want to court a girl like Amy?

She soon arrived to the shop, just to find it empty. Setting the box down, she picked up a letter set on the counter.

_Amy: Reagan, Natalie and I are planning to return home late. Sinead isn't returning at all, since she's planning to spend the night over at Mrs. Fairfax's. Well, if you want to join our girl's night out, meet us at the brand new seafood restaurant downtown. I'm hoping you'll come._

Amy set the letter down, realizing that she'd be spending another lonely afternoon that day.

"Better set to work," she told herself, heading toward the workshed. She grabbed Irina's dress, and began to finish it.

* * *

It'd taken him a while, but he finally knew who she was.

As he made his way down the crowded streets of Market Chipping and to its train station, Wizard Ian stared up at the starry sky, smiling proudly. Her last name was Cahill, and that's all he needed for his magic to track her. He was more than happy. After a week of meeting her daily in the Spasky's library, he'd finally found her.

The amber-eyed wizard quickly made his way inside the train leading to Tulip Hill. Smiling, he realized he'd just found his new girl. But unlike the rest, this one seemed to be hard to get. She appeared smart, which meant he'd probably have to bring his guitar now and then to serenade her. Or maybe she preferred the piano? Well, either could be arranged with one snap of his finger.

Hopefully, Mrs. Fairfax still remembered him and would let him inside, even though it was already late.

* * *

"You look really smart," Amy told one of her new pair of men's shoes, setting it down on a shelf. "Someone with great intelligence and reserved attitude certainly seems like the kind of person who'll take you home." She grabbed a fancy and eye-catching hat from her basket. She inspected the modern design, admiring how well she'd sown the feathers and flowers together. "You don't really look smart, but I'm sure that your future owner will really appreciate you." Setting the hat down, she gazed at the pair of shoes before shifting her eyes back to the hat. "I wouldn't be surprised if your owners ended up together."

The store bells rang, and in came Jenna Fisher, the daughter of Mrs. Fairfax's wealthy neighbors.

"Jenna, what are you doing here so late?" Amy wondered.

Jenna looked around the shop. "There's a picnic tomorrow, and the man I love is going to be there. I need a new hat-" Her eyes landed on the hat that Amy had previously set in the counter. "Oh, goodness! That one's perfect."

"It's all yours," Amy told her.

Jenna smiled happily, running to fetch the hat. Jenna was one of Amy's most regular customers, and even though the blonde was dim-witted, Amy liked her.

The store bells rang again, and in came Ned Starling, her previous school classmate. He lived in Upper Folding, another privileged neighborhood from Market Chipping, and had graduated school earlier than usual.

"Good evening, Amy," he greeted with a bow.

"Hello, Ned," Amy replied. "What are you looking for?"

Ned looked around before pointing at the most recent pair of shoes in the counter. The "smart" ones, according to Amy. "I'm looking for that."

As soon as he turned to get them, though, Jenna bumped into him, dropping her hat.

"Oh, goodness!" she exclaimed.

Ned bent down to pick it up. As he handed it to Jenna, his eyes landed on hers. There was a brief moment of silence before both of their cheeks turned pink. Amy watched with curiosity as Jenna slowly began to giggle, and Ned's smile became a love struck one.

Once again, Amy was right.

After they'd left with their brand new items, she grabbed a moist towel and began to clean the counter. Glancing at the clock, she realized it was already five minutes to eight. It was closing time.

However, before she could make her way toward the door, the store bells jingled.

"Sorry, we're-"

"Closed?" It was Natalie. Wasn't she supposed to be eating seafood with Isabel?

However, something was wrong with her. Not only was she smiling as if nothing had happened with Nikolai, but her eyes…they were blueish hue.

"Oh, that's right," 'Natalie' continued. "This one is not the blue-eyed sister, am I right?"

Amy gasped as 'Natalie' began to morph into Reagan. Once done, she was smirking at Amy.

"Impressed?" the person asked. She even sounded like Reagan.

Amy didn't know what to say. Other than Mrs. Fairfax and Sinead, she'd never encountered a wizard.

"Who are you?" Amy quavered, surprised at how steady her voice had come out. She was frightened, especially since this wizard didn't seem to have good intentions.

'Reagan' leaned against the wall, smiling mischievously. "Six months ago, I was created in the wastes…which is why, you all know me as the very much feared Witch of the Waste."

Amy's eyes widened.

"Too bad you can't look at my true form, I'm such a beautiful girl," the Witch of the Waste cooed. She frowned. "And people will never be able to look at your true form, either."

Amy stepped back, trying to come up with something that could free her from the witch. But of course, it was Amy against the Witch of the Waste. Everything would be useless.

"I thought we were on the same side, but I guess you've proved otherwise," the witch snarled. "You've taken something that belongs to me!"

"I-I have not," Amy replied. "You must be mistaken."

"Don't play with me, Cahill," the witch warned. She bowed her head, staring intently into Amy's eyes.

Amy just remained frozen, staring at the witch with wide eyes.

"I truly hate it when people try to set themselves up against me," the witch continued. She turned to leave, opening the door. But before she closed it behind her, she glanced back at Amy, smiling mischievously. "Remember, you won't be able to tell anyone you're under a spell."

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you _so_ much for the reviews. I'm surprised at how many Howl's Moving Castle fans are in here! :D Well, here's the second chapter! I know that some parts might be confusing, but trust me, they'll be explained later on.

By the way, I'm going to be mixing elements from both the book and the movie. More of the book, though. In fact...I think there's only a couple of elements from the movie.

Anyways, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Nineteen Going on to Eighty

Amy had never felt such a hot weather as the Waste's. Panting, she carried on her legs, trying to reach the end of such lands. But the vast clay desert didn't seem to have one. Every time she thought she reached the horizon, it turned out to be a dune of clay. She gazed up at the red sky, wondering how there could be no sun and yet, she felt as if she would pass out of the heat excess.

She turned around, staggering on her feet, trying to spot the gardens from where she'd come from. But all she could see was arid desert. She fell on her back, trying to heave in some fresh air. But all that surrounded her was dryness. Pushing back strands of hair that had stuck in her forehead, Amy tried to remember how she'd ended up in the borders of the Waste. But she couldn't recall any memory of walking past the rolling hills surrounding Market Chipping and having arrived at the edge of the Waste. She closed her eyes. The Waste was an enormous barren desert that occupied West of Ingary. What was once a beautiful kingdom became large amounts of mixture of sand and clay.

She wasn't an expert in history of the Waste. All she knew what was Sinead had told her: more than a century ago, a star fell down the sky, withering and ready to die. But a majestic king from the West, who practiced sorcery, made a contract with the star. He'd give his heart to the star, elongating its life, in exchange of more power. The star agreed, and as it ate the king's heart, it acquired the form a very handsome man. The fallen star assisted the king with justice and loyalty. However, one day, the star became greedy. Watching with jealousy how much power the king had, the star decided to finish with the king's life. But how? If the king died, so did the star. After all, they were connected. So it began to consume the king's body and soul, little by little. This caused changes in the king, until he disappeared entirely. The star, now turned into a king, wanted to rule all of Ingary. And so a war began. The star, realizing that it was about to loose, decided to lure all the other kingdoms' troops to the West. There, the star set fire to everything, planning to kill off its enemies. But the plan backfired. The West was destroyed, becoming the Waste, and the fallen star lost everything. Ever since that incident, every fallen star was called a fire demon.

Suddenly, she spotted a black dot in the horizon. Sitting up, Amy narrowed her eyes, trying to make out a figure. The dot kept getting closer to her, and until it was right in front of Amy, she realized it was a woman. She couldn't see her face clearly, but something told her it was the Witch of the Waste.

Amy's mouth was too dry to speak up. But she knew very well of the Witch of the Waste's cruelty and cunningness to be assured that she was in for a big mess.

The witch's name did not surface in Ingary until five months ago, when Prince Hamilton, the heir of the Northern monarchy, disappeared. A very powerful young man, Wizard Ted, was asked to search for the prince. He never found him, but he came back from the Waste to inform King Eisenhower that the Witch of the Waste had taken his son. A week later, Wizard Ted disappeared.

"I truly hate it when people try to set themselves up against me," the witch began. Even though Amy could not see her, she could tell the witch was smiling. "Remember, you won't be able to tell anyone about the spell."

With those words, Amy woke up with a jolt. Panting rapidly, she gulped, looking at her surroundings. She was back in her room.

It had all been a dream.

She breathed out in relief, but as she exhaled, an unbearable pain in her back erupted.

"Argh," Amy exclaimed, bending down. Her ears perked up, as a scratchy voice had come out of her mouth. Clearing her throat, she felt something weird about her. She then remembered the events of last night. The witch coming to the shop, disguised as Natalie and later Reagan. The witch warning her about taking something that belonged to her, and later looking intently into Amy's eyes.

_Remember, you won't be able to tell anyone you're under a spell._

Amy still didn't know what that mean. After the witch left, everything seemed to return back to normal. The only unusual thing was that she felt rather weak, which was why she'd left to bed earlier.

Standing up, Amy felt shorter than before. And then she got a glimpse of her reflection.

Gasping, she nearly fell back on her bed. But even though it hurt, she managed to balance herself. Gulping, she looked away from her mirror. After taking a few breaths, she looked back up again. Her green eyes widened.

Her dark auburn hair had been turned into dry strands of grey hair. Her once smooth skin was covered in wrinkles, and her nose was large and beaky, instead of its usual shape.

And then she'd understood the witch's last words.

She'd been put under a spell. The Witch of the Waste had turned her into an old lady!

As she stared in shock at her reflection, there came a knock on the door.

"Amy!" Isabel called out. "We're going out to buy some new fabric. I'm sure you would love to come."

"Sorry!" Amy replied, in her now raspy voice. "I caught the flu."

"Oh my God, you sound like an old lady!" Reagan exclaimed.

_I even look like one,_ Amy added in her mind.

"Would you like me to stay and tend you?" Isabel offered.

"No!" Amy blurted out. She bit down her lower lip, trying to come up with an excuse. "I…I think it's contagious."

"Come on, Mother." It was Sinead. "Let her rest. You know Amy doesn't like to be seen in her weak states."

Even if it was true, Amy frowned at that comment. But she was indeed thankful for Sinead's interference. She wouldn't want Isabel to come in and find Amy in such a state.

After a while, Isabel spoke up. "Alright. I'll make sure to bring back some medicine, dear."

"Thank you," Amy replied quietly, already knowing that by the time Isabel returned, Amy would've been long gone. She couldn't stay there like that, could she? No, she'd leave and try to break the spell. She'd return back home until she resumed her old self.

"Good bye, Amy! We love you!"

"I love you too," Amy answered, feeling as if her heart had been ripped off her chest. She knew very well that that was the last moment she'd hear Isabel's voice in a long time.

Amy sat back in her bed, looking down at the ground with sorrow. Blinking back tears, she wondered why the witch had cursed her. Amy barely went out to take something that belonged to someone else, much less, something that belonged to a _witch_.

She heard the doors of the store shut close, and Amy set to work. She opened her drawers, and after rummaging through light clothing, retrieved a soft blanket. Her mother used to wrap it around Amy when she was a toddler. She got changed into her usual grey dress and hat. But instead of braiding her hair, she wrapped it into a tight bun.

Opening the door of her bedroom, she made sure that none of her sisters had stayed behind before making her way down the kitchen. Using the blanket, she wrapped a loaf of bread and cheese. She didn't know if she'd find a place to rest in the way. She was about to make her way through the shop, when she realized that it would be better to go through the back door. However, before she left, there was one last place she'd like to visit.

Sliding the curtains of her workshed open, Amy gazed longingly at her materials.

"I'm going to miss you all," she told them, smiling sadly. "You kept me from getting lonely every time I was here. But I promise…I'll be back." Grabbing a grey shawl from her hanger, she wrapped it around her shoulders before leaving her home behind.

* * *

Even though she had the body of an eighty-year-old lady, she was still quite strong. As she walked up a stone path leading to the mountains, though uncomfortable and sometimes painful, she was as sturdy as ever. But of course, she thought it'd be nice to have a walking stick to make her journey easier.

Once she reached the top of the small hill, she turned around and gazed back at Market Chipping. Even from the distance, she could still feel the festive mood. A light breeze swept by, and Amy smiled a temporal goodbye to her home of five years. She never thought that at nineteen she'd be bidding farewell to everything that was Market Chipping.

"Well, if I want to return soon, better continue my journey," she told herself.

Turning her back to the city, she welcomed with glee the vast hills up ahead. Even though she was sad to leave her family behind, it was as if her wish to be back in the mountains came true. Of course, they weren't Southern mountains, but still close enough.

And then she spotted it. Trapped between two rocks, a branch was sticking out, as if waiting to be seen. Amy's eyebrows shot up, realizing that the branch would make a perfect walking stick. As quickly as her old legs could take her, she approached it. Wrapping her wrinkled hands around the stick, she pulled and pulled until she was able to get it out.

"Gotcha-" Amy's triumphant words were cut off by her own scream. Someone was staring back at her…a scarecrow. "You foolish old thing, it's a scarecrow!" Amy set it back to its feet, smiling at it. "Your head reminds me of a turnip." The sun's rays shone down on her cheeks. Looking at her right, she realized that the sun was beginning to set down. She gazed back at the scarecrow. "I saved you, why don't you do me a favor and look me a place to stay for the night?"

Chuckling, she left the scarecrow behind and resumed her way. Maybe there was a log house nearby…

_Tuck, tuck, tuck._

Amy stopped on her tracks. She could hear the sound of wood hitting the ground.

_Tuck, tuck, tuck, tuck._

The scarecrow materialized next to Amy, making her gasp.

"Why, you can walk!" Amy exclaimed.

The scarecrow leaned closer to her, as if it was nodding its head. Amy was quite surprised that she understood the magic scarecrow. The scarecrow then leaned sideway, and Amy understood from the motion that it was going to look for her a place to stay.

"Very well, I think that'd be awfully nice of you," Amy told it.

The scarecrow stared at her before jumping away from Amy, looking for a warm place for her.

Little did she know, that the scarecrow had a way with moving castles.

* * *

**A/N:** Hopefully, you sort of understood better the With of the Waste. But of course, you won't _fully_ understand her until the end of this story :P

Hmm...I made a mistake in the first chapter. You see, I was originally going to make Amy twenty-one-years-old, but I decided against it. However, I did not change Ian's age and left it in twenty-four. He's twenty-two, and Amy's nineteen. I'm not sure if you see that as a great difference, but in the book, I believe Howl (Wizard Ian in this) is twenty-seven, and Sophie (Amy in this) is eighteen LOL.

Once again, I apologize if there's anything that confuses you. Don't worry, it'll all be explained by the end. Thanks for reading, though. I hope you liked this!


	4. Amy's New Job

The sky was painted in pink and orange hues, since the sun was more than half set. If Amy looked up, she could already spot bits of the night sky. Looking back at her way ahead, she wondered if she'd have to sleep in the grass that night. Not only did she not know where she was heading to, she also didn't see any civilization up ahead. She sighed, pressing her barely existent lips together. She was wondering if it had been a mistake to leave her house without knowing where she would even go. And the farthest away she walked from Market Chipping, the more she repented of her foolish action. Maybe her family could've helped. After all, Sinead was rather advanced in magic. It would've been better than running away without even knowing where to start.

She took in a deep breath of fresh air. Deep down, she knew she'd escaped because she wanted to, not to find a way to break her spell. Yes, living in Market Chipping was lovely. But she felt obfuscated there. Even though she usually spent time alone in her workshed, all the different sounds of Market Chipping kept her from really thinking. Now, walking in the quiet and hilly paradise, she could hear her thoughts' true voice.

Wrapping her shawl around her, she leaned on her stick, feeling the wind even sharper than before.

_Tuck, tuck, tuck._

Amy looked up, and smiled once she spotted the scarecrow coming toward her. Her smile disappeared and her eyes widened once she spotted what the scarecrow was guiding toward her.

A tall, ugly and disastrous bundle of metal was rumbling to her direction. It wasn't until she saw the large amounts of smoke puffing from a chimney up on top that she realized it was Wizard Ian's moving castle. Amy stared in awe and wonder. The castle was giant, and she could spot three entrances, resembling the ones of houses, sticking out from each side.

The scarecrow began to stagger in rapid movements, and Amy understood from the motion that it was telling her to seek warmth inside the castle.

Amy wasn't afraid of Wizard Ian. She was an old and ugly lady now. He wouldn't want her heart. So with a relieved smiled, she ran as fast as her legs could toward the entrance. It took her some amount of strength, but she managed to heave herself up one of the entrances. She turned to look at the scarecrow.

"Thank you so much, Turnip Head!" she exclaimed, waving at its retreating figure.

And with that, she somehow managed to open the door and push herself inside.

She stared up at the small stairway up ahead, rubbing her hands together for warmth. After a few minutes of enjoying the heat, she began to climb up the stairs until she found herself in the messiest living room she'd ever laid eyes on.

Books towered everywhere, and dirty empty flasks were scattered across the wooden floor. She could spot the legs of a table, but the rest was hidden by trash. A crumb-covered rug adorned the dusty floor, and the large drawer by one of the windows was filled with wizardly trinkets.

"Psst."

Amy jumped, startled. Even though she wasn't afraid of him, she didn't want to face Wizard Ian soon.

"Over here."

Amy turned around, but all that was in front of her was a fireplace.

"It's me," the flame spoke up.

Now that she looked closer at it, she could little by little picture a face on it.

"You can speak," Amy drawled, awestruck.

"Of course I can. Now, how did you get in here?" the fire demanded.

Amy pointed at the door to her left, still gazing at the flame in surprise. "By the entrance."

The flame seemed surprised. "Well, that's odd…only I can let people in here. Are you, perhaps, the Witch of the Waste?"

Amy's awe was replaced by frustration and hatred. Her eyes darkened. "Of course not! I would never be such a horrid creature! That evil witch, she is such an ugly creature in the inside! Rotten! Pig! Fool!"

"Alright, alright, calm down," the flame replied. Amy could spot a smile in its face. "Perhaps she put you under a spell?"

Amy remained silent.

"And the spell prohibits you from telling anyone, doesn't it?" the flame continued.

"Y-yes," she answered, surprised that she could speak about it.

"I knew it," the flame announced, triumphantly. "I could smell the magic miles away! Now, you must be surprised that you could speak of it with me…well, you see, that little rule doesn't apply when someone finds out about the spell."

Amy nodded, realizing that it made sense. "Perhaps, then, you could help me break it?"

"Of course I can!" the flame told her, rather smugly. A smirk edged in its lips. "But there's a price with it…nothing's free in this world, miss."

"I thought so," Amy murmured. She pursed her lips, wondering what she could give in exchange for a way to break her spell. And though her family's shop was prosperous, they weren't exactly rich to be having worthy treasures.

"May I propose a deal?" the flame asked.

Amy nodded.

"I'm under a curse here," the flame explained. "If you help me free myself from this spell, I'll help you get rid of yours."

Amy didn't even think of her answer. "You've got a deal! But…what would your spell be?"

The flame's eyes darkened. "I can't talk of it. You'll have to figure out yourself."

"Oh, goodness," Amy murmured, looking down. And then an idea lit up in her mind. She could take advantage of that opportunity. If she agreed to do everything possible to break the flame's curse, it would be obliged to let her stay in the castle until she could break its spell. And when she broke its spell, it had to break hers and she'd be able to return home. Amy smiled, having found a solution for one of her many problems. "I'll try my best. But can't you at least give me some hints?"

"I'll try," the flame assured her. "I'm Jonah, by the way."

"I'm Amy," she informed Jonah.

"Nice meeting you, Amy," Jonah told her. "Now, there's just one more condition in this deal: you can't tell Wizard Ian."

Even though Amy was curious as to why, she decided against questioning the flame. "Of course."

"Good."

Jonah kept talking, but Amy couldn't concentrate in his words. The more she stared at him, the more the warmth enveloped her, making her slowly shut her eyes until she was in the world of sleep. All the experiences of that day came falling down on her, making her sleep even more profound than it should. She didn't even wake up when Wizard Ian, accompanied by his young assistant, Dan, came in later, surprised at the presence of an old lady inside their castle.

* * *

"Are you sure she isn't dead?"

"I'm sure, Dan."

"But…she doesn't even stir?"

"She's sleeping, Dan."

"But-"

Amy slowly opened her green eyes, and screamed when she found another pair of green eyes looking back at her.

A dirty blonde haired boy stepped back, startled by her reaction.

Amy looked around her surroundings, heaving in desperate breaths until she remembered why she was there. The girl –or should I say, old woman –grimaced at the young boy, who had fallen on his bottom because of her reaction.

"I am truly sorry, young man," Amy told him, her eyes concerned, trying her best to sound like an old lady. "I just…I momentarily forgot why I was here. You see, this happens often when you grow old like me."

Amy chuckled, but Dan just stared at her.

Suddenly, she heard a door burst open. A waft of million of scents hit her nose: lemon, clove, cinnamon…**.** She heard steps coming down the stairs leading to the second floor, and once her eyes landed on it, she saw a handsome man making its way to the living room. It took Amy a while to realize that all those smells had come from him. And it took her an even longer while to find out he was Wizard Ian. She stared at him, sure that he had a familiar face. Amy took in a sharp breath. Why, he was the guy who'd saved her pastries back in Market Chipping!

"Took you even longer than usual," Jonah remarked. "Since when are you locked in that bathroom…six hours from now?"

"Don't you understand, Jonah? Looks are a very important part of me," Wizard Ian explained, taking a glimpse of his reflection. "Without them, I wouldn't be Wizard Ian. Besides, my girl needs to see me at my best."

Jonah rolled his eyes.

Wizard Ian turned to look at Amy. To her surprise, he didn't seem mad. In fact, there were no emotions in his eyes.

"Jonah told me you were the new cleaning lady," he told her, raising an eyebrow.

Dan jumped up to his feet. "What? _Cleaning_ lady? But I like the castle the way it is!"

Amy wanted to laugh at Dan's expression. It seemed as if someone had informed him he was going to die in a few minutes.

"Yes, I'm not particularly fond of that idea, either," Ian continued. "But as long as she doesn't touch the bathroom or my room, then I won't be bothered." His expression changed into a love struck one, smiling foolishly. "Now, castle inhabitants, I'm off to see my girl!" He grabbed his guitar, and off he went.

As he opened the door, Amy couldn't help but notice the square knob next to it. It had four blobs of paint: blue, red, yellow and black. There was a small lever, which pointed to each one. When Ian pointed it to the blue one, the door opened to a very different place than the mountains she'd come from. It was civilized, after all.

"I'll be back soon," Ian told them, before shutting the door behind him.

"Isn't this the twelfth time he claims he is in love?" Dan asked.

"Thirteenth," Jonah corrected.

They were so enthralled in their discussion on Ian's love struck ways that they didn't notice Amy entering the bathroom from downstairs, grabbing a bucket and filling it with soaped water. She found a sponge with which she could scrub the floor, and later on, she spotted a broom. If cleaning was what she should do, then so be it. In fact, she was looking forward to it. It'd certainly take her mind off matters such as her brand new appearance.

Amy set the bucket down, and ignored the quizzical glances thrown her way from both Jonah's and Dan's part. It wasn't until she began to sweep and clouds of dust puffed up, that coughing violently, both questioned her sanity.

"What in the world are you doing?" Dan demanded, horrified.

Amy was met by a large rack of potions, which she nearly ran into thanks to her focus on cleaning. She stared at it, surprised to see so many.

"Don't touch that!" Dan warned, frowning with worry.

"I'll repeat Dan's question," Jonah countered. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning," Amy simply replied. "I am the cleaning lady after all."

"Well, you aren't suppose to actually clean," Jonah informed her. "I was using that as an excuse."

Dan couldn't take it anymore. "Stop it! Stop it! I like it messy!"

Amy stopped, looking up at the fourteen-year-old. "Your room's next."

Dan gasped, staring with horror at Amy. Glaring at her, he ran up to his room, clearly to protect his stuff. _He must have a mess,_ Amy thought, chuckling to herself. Their horrified faces were quite funny.

She looked around her, calculating in her mind how long it would take her to get it all clean. To really get off the dust from the floor, she'd have to scrub and sweep at least three times. Then, dust off the drawers and get rid of the trash. Then the cobwebs, the dust from the roof, the lamps, Jonah's fireplace, washing the dishes in the place…and that was just the first floor.

Amy gazed at Jonah's repentant expression, knowing it was him who brought that doom to the castle. She smiled. It'll take her at least three days to clean the entire place thoroughly.

It'll certainly be fun.

* * *

**A/N:** So Amy finally meets the moving castle clan. I'm really excited for the next chapters, because Ian is now here! :D Also, I already began to read the second series, starting with Vespers' Rising. And I've just got one question:

WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO INTRODUCE THAT FOOL EVAN TO THE BOOKS?!

I've seen a few Evan/Amy stories in here, but I'm still hoping that he doesn't make any more appearances :/

Well, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed :)


	5. Miss Congeniality

For the next three days, all Amy did was: sweep, dust, scrub, annoy Dan, nearly kill Jonah by cleaning his fireplace, and pass unnoticed by Wizard Ian, who always came home quite late with a frustrated frown on his face. It was quite obvious he hadn't been able to catch the attention of the girl he was after, which Amy was quite glad of. Even though she hadn't spotted any eaten hearts in the house, she didn't need evidence to see what that wicked and vain wizard's true intentions were.

On the second morning in the castle, Amy was in the mood of a breakfast other than cheese and bread.

"Isn't there anything else?" she asked Dan, rummaging through the messy drawers near the fireplace.

"There is food," Dan answered, munching down on his sandwich. "But only Ian can get Jonah to cook for him."

"You know that's right," Jonah added.

"Then wake him up," Amy demanded, not quite her nice self. "I spent the entire day scrubbing floors yesterday, and I'm hungry."

"Ian doesn't like to be woken up early," Dan informed her, setting his sandwich down. "It's rare when he wakes up early and cooks us breakfast, actually."

"And I repeat," Jonah said. "If it's not Ian, I don't let anyone use me to cook."

Amy gazed at Jonah quite quizzically. "Is that so?"

"Mhmm," Jonah replied nonchalantly.

Wordlessly, Amy grabbed eggs and bacon. Retrieving a pan she'd earlier washed, she set it over Jonah.

"Hey, what are you doing!" he exclaimed.

"Bend down," Amy ordered.

"No," Jonah answered.

"Bend down," Amy insisted.

"I won't do that, old lady!" Jonah exclaimed.

Amy lowered her voice to a threatening whisper. "Look, if you don't want me to tell Wizard Ian about our contract, it's because he won't be pleased about it. You either bend down, or I'll make sure that he knows."

Jonah remained silent for a while. Then he bent down. "You are a mean person, Miss Amy!"

Amy cracked eggs on the pan, ignoring his remark. She was not in the mood to be patient with a flame that spoke.

"I saw your threatening glare earlier!" Dan announced. "You bullied him into bending down for you!"

"You're just an ingenuous kid," Amy murmured, flipping the bacon.

"Seriously, I don't like this at all," Jonah complained, frowning. "I hate doing this!"

"Ian won't be pleased," Dan added, glaring at Amy. "And I'm not pleased with you bothering Jonah."

"Oh, shut up! I'm making you food," Amy told him.

"Yeah, but when it's at the expense of a friend of mine, I don't enjoy things I normally love," Dan informed her.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Please, it's not as if he's suffering."

"It's uncomfortable!" Jonah corrected. "How would you like it if a stranger came by and-"

"What's going on in here?"

It was Wizard Ian.

"Amy bullied Jonah into letting her cook for him!" Dan told him.

Amy remained silent, not daring to look at the wizard. If she did, her brave façade would go down the drain.

"I see," was all that Ian said. "If he let her cook on him, then maybe Jonah doesn't mind Amy's presence."

Jonah glared at Amy, but didn't say anything.

_Good flame,_ Amy told him in her mind.

"Move over," Ian told her, materializing next to her.

Amy did as told, biting her lower lip.

She watched as Ian grabbed the cracked eggshells she'd set aside, and fed them to Jonah.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Jonah exclaimed, his mouth happily full.

Dan stared at Ian expectantly. Amy noticed in frustration that it seemed as if he was anticipating Ian to kick her out. She frowned, her mood getting darker by the second. Even though Jonah had made a deal with her, it was obvious that he didn't want her around. Dan also felt the same. _The feeling is mutual_, she wanted to tell them. She crankily crossed her arms, remembering with anger the Witch of the Waste. If it wasn't for that fool, she wouldn't have been stuck in a moving castle with a heart-eating wizard.

Her frustrated thoughts were interrupted by the _clank_ of a plate being set down in front of her. Dan's eyes brightened up, and he munched down his own plate. Amy simply stared at her food, since her mood had seized her previous hunger.

"I'll be heading off," Ian informed them. He grabbed his guitar. "Dan, please make sure Amy doesn't try to kill Jonah. I heard that yesterday she nearly put him out."

"Will do," Dan replied, his mouth full.

Amy glared at him.

Ian opened the door, and left.

"He'll be back late, I can tell," Jonah said.

"It'll probably be a week more until he gets tired of the girl," Dan replied.

Amy took a bite of her bacon, shaking her head. That wizard…with all the horrid things she'd heard of him, anybody could say he was heartless.

She quickly finished her food and set out to clean, which was received by groans form Jonah's and Dan's part. Amy ignored them, and vigorously began to organize the drawers. She wasn't so bothered by her new job. It kept her mind off her hatred for the Witch of the Waste.

The next morning, to try and avoid Jonah and Dan accusing her of being a bully, she settled with cheese and bread even before Jonah woke up. Once all the castle inhabitants were downstairs, Amy was already finishing the first floor. Wizard Ian didn't seem to notice her work, though, and only left to flirt with 'his girl'. A few moments after he left, someone knocked the door.

"Porthaven!" Jonah exclaimed.

Dan put on a hat, and to Amy's amazement, after he pulled it down, a long, grey beard appeared on his face. His clothes were replaced by wizardly capes, and his nose seemed bigger. He climbed down the stairs, and after rotating the lever so it pointed at the yellow blob, he opened the door. Amy's eyes widened. The streets in front of Dan were quite different from the ones Ian had left to.

"I need to talk to Wizard Pendragon," a young girl told him.

Amy frowned. _Shouldn't it be Wizard Ian Kabra?_

"I'm sorry, but he's not in," Dan replied. "I'm his assistant, I can help you with some spells."

Amy's mouth dropped open. Even his voice was huskier.

"My father is going on a trip in his boat," the girl explained. "I need a spell that will protect him from any dangerous situation."

Dan nodded. "I'll be right on it."

He climbed up the stairs, and grabbed a few potions and flasks. Mixing some together, he grabbed a book from a shelf and, after opening it to a selected page, began to chant a few words. Once he finished, his new mix exploded into pink smoke, and the liquid turned into dust. He stuffed it all in a small bag, and handed it to the girl.

"Sprinkle this all over the boat, and your dad will come back safe and sound," Dan told her.

The girl broke into a grin. "Oh, thank you so much!" She handed him an amount of coins before running off.

Dan closed the door behind him. Taking the hat off, he resumed to his old self. After looking at Amy's agape expression, he chuckled.

"These hats," he told her, stuffing his in a basket by the floor. "Help you change appearances." With that, he climbed upstairs.

"Unbelievable," Amy breathed out, grabbing a broom. She was going to sweep around a little before heading upstairs. As soon as she began to do so, Jonah's voice interrupted her.

"Hey, when are you planning to break my spell?" he asked.

Amy stopped, turning to look at him. She had entirely forgotten about her contract. However, she decided to lie. "I'm looking for clues while cleaning." She continued to sweep the floor, not daring to look at Jonah. If she did, she was afraid he'd easily look through her lie. After all, if he found out that all the time she'd been annoying him she hadn't even put an ounce of effort into breaking his spell, he'd sure tell Ian to kick her out. Both seemed to really take into consideration each other's thoughts and suggestions.

Amy soon moved upstairs, and following Ian's instructions, ignored both his bathroom and bedroom. That left Dan's room. _Oh, he's not going to be pleased_, Amy thought, opening his door.

As soon as Dan spotted her, a horrified expression settled in his face. "_NO!"_ Grabbing the spell he'd been working on, he quickly ran off the room and downstairs, obviously to try and make Jonah tell Ian to kick her out of the castle.

"It's for his own good," Amy told herself, beginning to clean up. In the process, she found a few love letters addressed to Dan. Amy couldn't help but laugh. "So he does have a sweet side."

Surprisingly, Dan was considerably clean. She was able to finish his room in a few hours before moving out. She still had the balcony, the hallways, stairs, roofs, and some drawers to clean, but she felt as if she should at least look around Ian's room and bathroom. First, she opened the door to his room. She nearly fainted at the sight in front of her. All kinds of wizardly toys kept the floor from being seen, the walls were full of books, and the roofs had things hanging from them. She quickly closed the door and moved on to his bathroom, which was pretty much the same, except with beauty creams and potions. She looked around the hallways to make sure Dan was not there before stepping inside. She read some of the labels on the glass bottles: _hair, skin, wrinkle prevention, scent…_

"Skin?" Amy took the bottle in her hands. "Wrinkle prevention?" She gazed at it, frowning. The wizard was twenty-two, how in the world would he be having wrinkles at such a young age? Amy pursed her lips, wondering if both creams could help her become young again, but she was too frightened to try. She gazed at the _hair_ bottled before her eyes settled on a shelf with the same name. Settling the bottle down, she moved on to it. The flasks stored there didn't seem to have a name. She took two, and opened them. They smelled and looked the same. Shrugging, she set them down and moved out of the bathroom. Only a vain man like Ian would know what such unlabeled creams worked for. Maybe they targeted the same area?

The day passed by, and soon, Ian came home, slamming doors behind him. Without a word of Amy's work, he stomped upstairs.

"Seems like he had a bad day," she commented.

"Or," Jonah told her. "His girl is a hard one."

Dan nodded. "I could see the determination in his eyes. Tomorrow he'll try even harder."

"And all to later dump her," Amy muttered, shaking her head.

Tomorrow came, and Amy was rubbing clean the roofs when she heard a bloodcurdling scream. In fear, she dropped her materials. What could have been the cause of such screams? She climbed down her ladder, sharing a quizzical glance with Jonah.

"_AMY!_"

Her heart stopped.

"He'll finally kick her out," Dan murmured excitedly.

She heard a door slam shut before Ian came stomping down, ready to throw a tantrum. To her surprise, his hair wasn't its usual black hue. Instead, it was a light brown color.

"Look at what you've done!" he wailed, pointing at his hair. "Why were you rummaging through my color enrichment creams when I very clearly told you not to?"

Amy remained silent, looking down.

"My beauty's gone!" he cried out, slumping down on the chair in front of Jonah.

"Now, now," the flame began.

"I can't live without beauty!" Ian continued, ignoring Jonah's attempts to sooth him. His usually composed façade had now completely disappeared, and the brat inside him was slowly surfacing. "What am I going to do?"

"Oh, great," Dan murmured. "He's showing his true colors again…I hate it when he does that." He glared at Amy, who ignored the look.

She could easily look through his act. In the past days she'd been there, Amy had come to the conclusion that Ian was self-centered, vain, player, cold-hearted, bratty and now she added 'manipulative' to the list. It was clear he was just throwing a fit to make Amy feel guilty. He was just like Natalie, therefore, she knew what to do. Grabbing a book, she approached Ian and whacked him across the face.

"Compose yourself!" Amy ordered. "You think you've got it bad for temporally dying your hair? For all my life I've been ugly! And look at me, I still live! Stop trying to make me feel guilty, because you won't, you brat!"

Amy was quite shocked. She'd never thought she'd be able to stand up to a person such as Ian. But, well, maybe being an old lady made her stronger. And she was glad for it. Someone needed to put such a wicked wizard in his place.

Ian stared at her, his mouth open. After a few seconds, he frowned, stood up and turned to leave. As he stomped up the stairs, he glanced back at Amy. "I hate you!"

Amy rolled her eyes. _Just like Natalie. How can girls like him?_

Heaving a sigh, Amy sat on a chair, exhausted. Living in the castle with such impossible inhabitants was quite hard.

* * *

**A/N:** So here's a long chapter for you, amazing readers! Hopefully, it's not boring :P I just wanted to show Amy's current life in the castle and her...not-so-friendly, you could say, relationship with its inhabitants. I don't know if you feel as if Ian is not having enough scenes, but starting from now, his appearances will be more than regular. After all, he's one of the main characters! Also, I know Amy's behavior is really unlike her. This will be explained later :)


	6. A Heartless Wizard

Night finally arrived. Ian was still locked upstairs, much to Amy's annoyance. It was quite obvious he was waiting for her to apologize. He kept calling for her every thirty minutes, either to bring him food, to pass him something on one of his shelves, or to puff his pillows. Apparently, he'd suddenly caught the flu.

Amy sat down on the chair in front of Jonah, exhausted. From next day and onwards, she'd only have to do general cleaning, since she was finally done. She sighed, gazing at Jonah's snoring figure. Could she be able to break his spell? That factor would determine all of Amy's future. If she didn't, she'd end up never returning home, and possible dying earlier than she should've.

Amy looked down at her now wrinkled hands. Blinking back tears of frustration, she wondered why the Witch of the Waste chose to sour Amy's life. Thanks to that rotten woman, she ended up cleaning a castle of inhabitants that didn't even want her there. But well, the latter was her fault. She'd been taking out her anger on the castle, Dan, Jonah and even Ian. In their eyes, she was a cranky old lady. No wonder they didn't want her around!

Amy sighed, shaking her head. How was her family? The shop? Her home? She very dearly missed Isabel, her stepsisters and even being stuck in the workshed talking to her materials. She missed the busy streets of Market Chipping, the delicious pastries of Cesari's, and even staying home alone every afternoon.

"What's wrong?"

Amy looked up to find Jonah looking back at her. She sighed, ignoring the sting of tears in her eyes. "Nothing. I'm just tired of cleaning."

Jonah shook his head…or should she say flame? "Are you missing home?"

Amy remained silent for a while. "Yes."

"I see."

"The worst part is that, even though I never admitted it, I always dreamed of leaving to a faraway place and never ever hear of Market Chipping again," Amy continued. "But now that I really see what it's like…I just wish I could go back in time to slap my older self."

Jonah chuckled. "I think it's _younger_ self."

Amy had to crack a sad smile.

_Stomp. Stomp._

Amy and Jonah simultaneously turned to look at the stairway leading to the second floor. It seemed as if someone had been running upstairs. But after remaining silent for a while, trying to hear any other sound, both concluded that it hadn't been anything of importance.

"If you're a less cranky person," Jonah began. "I'll give you more hints and try to make them as obvious as the spell lets me. And after mine is broken, I promise, I'll turn you back into your younger self the second I become me again."

"Thank you," Amy replied, smiling gratefully. "I honestly don't know what I would've done without you…or that scarecrow."

"Scarecrow?"

"Yes," Amy answered. She told him the story of the scarecrow in detail, deciding to start from her previous life. She told him everything: her parents, her stepmother and stepsisters, her job making clothes, the way she 'predicted the future' of clothing, and all that had been going on recently in her life.

"Amy, have you ever thought that you might have magic in your veins?" Jonah asked her.

Amy's eyes widened. "Me? The only one who was qualified to become a wizard was Sinead."

Jonah shook his head. "But, the way I understood the story, you talked life into your creations and even that scarecrow."

"Talk life into things?" Amy repeated. A pensive look settled in her features. "I'd never really thought of it."

"Well, there you go," Jonah said with a smile. "You have a magic tongue!"

Amy smiled. If it were true, it would be the nicest thing to happen to her in the longest time. Maybe her lack of beauty was rewarded with special talents such as that one. Her smile grew at the idea.

Jonah yawned. "Well, Miss Amy, I think it's time for me to return to my previous sleep. I'll let you cook on me tomorrow."

Amy nodded. "I'd be honored."

Jonah smiled at her. "Good night."

* * *

There was a knock on his door.

Ian smiled. It was definitely Amy. Her guilt had probably given her some insomnia, and she simply had to apologize to Ian for everything. He placed a hand on his hurt cheek. That book had hurt more than anything in the world.

In his weakest voice ever, he called out, "Come in!"

The door opened.

It was Dan.

Ian frowned in disappointment. His voice returned to the usual. "What do you want, Dan?"

"I'm sorry to have woken you up," his assistant replied. "But I need to tell you something."

Ian motioned him to come closer. "What's wrong?"

"I overheard a bit of a conversation between Amy and Jonah," he told Ian. "I've come to the conclusion that Amy's under a spell."

Ian sat up. "I knew it! I knew there was something up with that old lady! Could you hear what her spell is?"  
"I left quickly," Dan informed him. "But I'm pretty sure she's been turned old."

Ian nodded, taking it all in. "I see…"

He took a moment to think of her green eyes. The first time he'd seen her, he remembered finding her eyes familiar. As if he'd seen them somewhere…walking down the streets with a pastry box in her hands. He smiled. It was that girl with the grey dress from Market Chipping! Yes, he remembered her more than clearly. Something about her had caught his attention, so he'd followed her home. It seemed as if she was linked with that clothing shop by Cesari's…what was its name? _The Dressmaker._ Ian smiled triumphantly. And then he remembered. Hadn't his girl, Sinead, told him that her family owned that shop?

"Ian?" Dan asked.

"I'm alright," Ian replied. "I just realized something."

Dan sighed. "I sort of feel bad for Amy. Maybe she was being such a pain because of her spell?"

"Maybe," Ian murmured, still thinking of his discovery.

Maybe Sinead would know a bit about Amy.

* * *

The next day, Amy woke up to a completely different environment. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she'd finished cleaning, or that Dan was being awfully nice to her.

She was finishing cooking breakfast when the familiar perfumed scent filled the entire room. Ian came walking down, his chin turned up and a smug smirk in his face. Amy noted that his hair was turned back to its usual jet black. She shook her head. He'd made a huge tantrum over something he could change with a snap of his fingers.

"Good morning," he greeted, taking a seat by the table. "What's for breakfast?"

Amy set the eggs and bacon on the table, next to a platter of buttered breath.

"That smells nice," Dan commented, his eyes sparkling with hunger. Grabbing his share, he began to gulp everything down his throat.

"Dan," Ian began, fixing the sleeve of his shirt. "Please, there is a lady present. Show her some manners."

Dan glanced at Amy before sitting up straighter and slowly munching his food.

"Thank you," Ian said. Grabbing his share, he began to eat as gracefully as a prince. "So I was thinking of finally revealing my lady's name."

"That means he'll dump her in a week," Dan murmured to her. "That always happens whenever he informs us of his current girl's identity."

"I won't go into details," Ian continued. "I'll just say that her last name is 'Cahill' and that her family owns _The Dressmaker_."

Amy missed Ian's mischievous glance thrown her way. She was too busy nearly spitting her food out. To her surprise, so was Dan.

"Cahill?" Amy repeated, her eyes wide. _No, no, no_,she thought. One of her sisters was lured by his trap! One of her sisters would get her heart eaten! Amy felt a wave of dizziness, wanting to faint in dismay. _No…_

Amy looked up to find Ian intently looking into her eyes. It resembled the way the Witch of the Waste had looked at her when she was turning her old.

Ian simply smirked at her before standing up. "I'm off to see my girl! I'll be back later."

With that, he opened the door of the castle and walked out.

Amy was left in stunned silent. She desperately gazed at Jonah. "Please tell me that there is a chance he's truly fallen in love with her this time."

Jonah frowned. "Why so bothered?"

"Because that girl is one of my sis-" Amy stopped herself. Dan would find it odd if an eighty-year-old had a sister more than sixty years younger, right? "That girl is one of my cousin's granddaughters."

Jonah grimaced. "Well, I'm sorry to inform you, Amy…but until he leaves the house unshaven and without all that pampering he does in the bathroom, he won't be truly in love."

Amy bit her lower lip, feeling her heart fall down to the ground. "She'll get her heart eaten…"

"Excuse me?"

"Ian will eat her heart!" Amy exclaimed in desperation

Jonah broke into laughs. "No he won't!"

"But that's what he does," Amy wailed. "He eats girls' hearts!"

"That's just a rumor that Dan started. You see, he wanted to get girls in Market Chipping to stay away from Ian, since whenever he broke their hearts…you should've seen the ruckus that most of their aunts caused. Aunts are terrible whenever their niece's hearts are broken!" Jonah told her. "Right, Dan?"

Amy turned to look at Dan. She frowned, taking in his shocked and silent expression.

He began to shake his head. "It can't be…no…no! It can't be _my_ Reagan Cahill!"

Amy's frown deepened.

Dan jumped up to his feet, completely forgetting his breakfast. "Amy, when the clients come, take note of their orders! I'll make them as soon as I return."

With that, he left.

Amy and Jonah were left alone. She was confused. Until she remembered the love letters she'd found in Dan's rooms. Amy smiled. If Reagan wasn't Ian's girl, then she would be extremely happy for her. Dan seemed like a good boy, he'd be perfect for her youngest sister.

"I'm sorry about your sister," Jonah began. "But Ian doesn't really know what it feels to have a heart beat fast for another person."

Amy found the remark quite odd. She gazed at Jonah, who had an expectant look in his eyes. She silently gasped. He was giving her a hint!

…_Ian doesn't really know what it feels to have a heart beat fast…_

And a very easy hint. It was clear: Ian didn't have a heart.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry if you find a lot of mistakes. You see, I'm writing this feeling very ill. I thought that writing would make me feel better, because it usually does, but this time it didn't work :/ Well, I hope you enjoyed! If I don't feel better, I won't update tomorrow. So don't be surprised if there isn't an update from me...well, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed!


	7. Young Nights

"When do you think they'll be back?" Amy asked Jonah as she cleaned the dishes. She glanced at the clock. "It's already 7:30 p.m. and they're still in who-knows-where."

"I'm not surprised about Ian," Jonah replied, munching down on some eggshells. "When he's about to make the girl fall in love with him, he always comes home quite late and with some goofy smile on his face. Even though he subconsciously knows he'll dump them, he always manages to convince himself he's in love. Some twisted player he is!"

Amy pursed her lips, not happy with the talk.

Jonah, sensing her hostility toward the subject, cleared his throat. "Who I'm surprised of is Dan. He's never been the kind to miss dinner!"

Amy gazed with worry at the now cold dinner she'd prepared for them. "Do you think they got in a fight over Reagan?"

"Dan's pretty loyal," Jonah informed her. "Even if he knows that Ian will later dump her, if he's in love with a girl who Ian 'loves', he'll leave them alone."

"Has it happened before?" Amy asked, surprised.

"No," Jonah replied. "But I'm sure of it. Besides, next to Ian, Dan doesn't have any competition. Not only has Ian better looks, but he's a very powerful wizard. With a snap of his fingers, he can make Dan loose the competition…and he knows it."

Amy nodded, taking it all in. She wasn't really worried about Ian. Even though the rumor about his heart-eating habits had been cleared off, he was still a complete player who wasn't worthy of anyone's pity. Which was why she was only worried about Dan and Reagan. If that was the case, she'd root for Dan in a fight for Reagan. Dan had a good heart, and Ian…well, he didn't even have one.

"Enough about love issues," Jonah cut her thoughts. "Are you working on my spell?"

"Hold your horses, Jonah," Amy laughed. "You've only given me your first hint today."

Jonah frowned. "Are you kidding me? I've been giving you tons of hints, Amy!"

Amy's smiled disappeared. "Really?"

Jonah was clearly not pleased. "Please, pay closer attention to every single one of my words."

Amy grimaced. "I'll do that." Gazing at his displeased expression, Amy sighed. "Seriously, I know you want to get rid of that curse. But can't you be more patient?"

"I'm not worried about me," Jonah replied. "I'm worried about you."

Amy chuckled, not believing the flame. "Oh, please."

"Really!" Jonah exclaimed. "I've grown to like you, Amy."

Amy stopped washing dishes and focused all her attention on Jonah.

"The longer you stay here, the more you'll fall in love with Ian," Jonah continued.

Amy frowned. "What? You think I'll fall in love with him?"

Jonah nodded. "It's bound to happen."

"Please!" Amy snapped. She murmured, "Besides, if I ended up falling in love with him…why would he like an old lady who wasn't even pretty in her youth?"

"Either way," Jonah answered. "You'll still end up hurt."

Amy remained silent, thinking of Jonah's words. There was no way she'd end up falling for such a hardheaded wizard. _Right?_ Amy thought. After more thinking about Ian, she glared at Jonah. _Great, now I'm thinking about Ian in a romantic way! Get a grip, Jonah isn't right. Knowing what that idiot is capable of doing, you won't fall for him. You might've not been doted with looks, but you were given a very well working brain. You will never be fooled._

"It's not Reagan!" Dan announced, jumping with joy inside the castle.

Amy smiled. "You're back!"

"With extremely good news!" Dan replied, skipping toward the old lady. "She does not love Ian! She loves me!"

Amy grinned, pleased at Dan's happiness. "She told you?"

Dan nodded, sitting down on his seat. He munched down his food, not caring if it was cold. "She was telling me she'd never met Ian. I didn't believe it. And while she was assuring me, she let it slip that she loved me!" Dan blushed at the memory. "She seemed flustered about it, but I let her know the feelings were reciprocated."

Amy was smiling ear to ear.

"I know we're too young," Dan continued. "But I'm sure about my feelings."

"That's good," Amy told him, patting his blonde head. "I approve of your relationship with her."

"Hearing that from a relative of my Reagan's makes me incredibly happy," Dan admitted, smiling up at Amy.

Amy returned the smile, promising to toast more bread for Dan. Her worries weren't all settled, though. One of her sisters was still going to get hurt by that idiotic Ian.

"Oh, by the way, did you know Reagan's sister went missing?" Dan informed her, eating his turkey.

Amy's heart nervously skipped a beat. "What?"

"She also shares your same name," Dan continued. "They're really worried about her."

Amy pressed her lips together, looking down. She'd been gone for five days from Market Chipping, and, even though cleaning kept her mind missing, whenever night came, she couldn't help but think of her family.

"I see," Amy whispered.

"They're also very sad, because Natalie, Reagan's sister, is getting married in a month," Dan explained.

"What?" Amy exclaimed, dropping a fork.

Dan nodded. "She's marrying a Spasky. And it's a really interesting story. Apparently, he and some girl were forced to marry. But both stood up to their parents, since the girl wanted to become a famous ballerina and the Spasky kid was in love with Natalie. When their parents finally agreed to let them off the hook, Spasky kid proposed to Natalie right away."

Amy smiled, happiness bursting in her heart. She wished she could've been there to see Natalie's ecstatic face. Tears glistened in her eyes as her lips curled down. She wished more than anything else in the world to be back home. Jonah gazed with worry at her, and she simply smiled back.

Dan turned to look at her. "They really want their missing sister to know that she'll be a maid of honor."

"Oh, that's nice," Amy replied, looking down. If she could be young again, she wouldn't even care about people looking at her, she'd still accept. Amy shook her head. She was an idiot. Everything she did was to please other people, not to please herself. She wished she could be young again, and begin to live life to please herself and her family, not strangers who'd never be pleased for her, anyways.

Ian burst the doors open. He walked in, smiling brightly with a bouquet of geraniums. Amy perked up at the sight of such flowers. The sweet-smelling geraniums had always been her favorite.

"Why did you come in so late?" Amy demanded.

"Sinead deserves all of my time," Ian replied.

Amy frowned. _Sinead,_ she thought in pity. _Such a smart girl, and she falls into this heartless wizard's trap_.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the geraniums being placed in front of her. "They were selling these on the streets, I thought I'd buy you some as a thank you for your hard work. The castle has become more pleasant."

Amy slowly grabbed then, smiling at the deed. "Thank you…nobody had ever given me flowers."

"You're welcome," Ian replied, grinning at her. "I hope you like geraniums."

"They are my favorite!" Amy exclaimed, smelling them. "Thank you so much."

She ignored Jonah's knowing glance.

"Now, I heard Sinead was a relative of yours," Ian continued, taking a seat on the table. "Your sister's granddaughter?"

"That's right," Amy replied, handing Dan his toasts.

"Well, Natalie is getting married," Ian informed her.

"So I heard," Amy replied, smiling at Dan.

"Apparently, it will be in a month, a Friday night."

"A Friday night?" Amy asked.

"Yes," Ian said. "They thought 8:30 p.m. would be the perfect time to have a starry night wedding."

"The idea is quite nice," Jonah commented. "To marry under the stars…"

"You're such a romantic," Ian laughed, taking a bite from his dinner.

"No, I've always been a fan of stars," Jonah said, glancing at Amy.

Amy was munching down her turkey to notice, happy for her family (except Sinead).

"Oh, it's eight!" Ian announced, frowning. "I did come in quite late, didn't I?"

Jonah laughed.

Ian handed Amy his plate. "Could you bring me more turkey? It's delicious, Amy."

"Of course," she replied, grabbing the plate. She stood up and headed toward Jonah. As she began to serve turkey breast on the plate, something about her felt different. She felt lighter…stronger.

"Amy," Jonah whispered nervously.

"What?" Amy asked.

"Hide, quickly," he replied, gazing at Ian and Dan, who had their backs turned to her.

"Huh?"

He quietly hissed. "You're young again!"

Amy gasped. Glancing at her hand, she realized it was wrinkle-free. She placed the plate down and ran to a former closet, which was now her room. As she jumped inside, she slid the curtain separating her 'room' from the rest of the castle shut.

"Amy?" she heard Ian ask.

"I'm not feeling well!" she exclaimed. "I'll go to sleep!"

She grimaced. Her voice sounded younger.

She heard Ian stand up. "You don't sound so good-"

"Leave her alone," Jonah cut in. "It's girl issues."

Amy grabbed a mirror by her bed (which consisted of a bunch of pillows and blankets). Looking at the mirror, she saw her young self again. But not quite. Her hair was still grey. Inspecting a strand of grey hair, she wondered if maybe she hadn't been completely turned to her younger self. Or what if it was a sign that she was only her younger self inside the castle? Amy bit her lower lip, laying down on her pillows. She'd have to wait until the next day to see.

* * *

"Shh, you'll wake her up," Ian whisper-hissed at Dan.

"Sorry," replied Dan, picking himself up. He'd fallen down the dark stairs while making his way toward Amy's closet.

Ian glanced back at Jonah, whose flame was a blue-ish color, meaning he was sleeping.

Dan was now slowly sliding open Amy's curtain. Ian headed over that way. Earlier that morning, he'd try to reverse Amy's spell. But it was too strong, so he could only reverse it at night, starting from 8:00 p.m. and ending at 6:00 a.m. And he'd still worked hard to achieve that.

"Reagan is prettier, but she's quite good-looking," Dan commented.

"Move aside," he told Dan, gently pushing the boy out of his way. His breath caught in his throat. He'd seen girls way prettier than Amy –in fact, her sisters were better looking. But something about her made her beautiful.

"I can't believe she's been cleaning the castle," Dan whispered.

Ian nodded, still surprised at her appearance. Back in Market Chipping, some hat was obscuring her face from view. Now he could see her completely.

"Let's go, Dan," Ian told his apprentice, sliding the curtain shut. "I heard that if someone stares at you while you sleep, you get nightmares."

* * *

**A/N:** Since I'm now feeling better, I thought I'd update as a way to celebrate :D I just finished Vesper's Rising...now on to The Medusa Plot. So now, thanks to a fanfic, I know Evan's Amy's new boyfriend :/ And after reading the Rapid Fire series (well, not really...I skimmed through them in google books LOL), I know it's Ian's fault! Grr, I'm really mad and disappointed. If they weren't going to make Amian happen, why did those authors even start it in the first place?!

I don't care if Amy ends up single or with some random dude (like this Jake guy I've been seeing in the archive), as long as she doesn't end up with the ship-destroyer, Evan Tolliver! If she does end up with him, I swear, I'll be leading the angry mob to the authors' houses. That said, I'm enjoying the new series. At first, I wasn't quite fond of the idea. But I really like it!


	8. Author's Note

Hey guys! I know this kind of "chapters" aren't permitted, but I needed to notify you that I won't be able to update soon. Believe it or not, I'm at the hospital. Remember that little illness I told you about earlier? Well, it turned out to be a virus that put me in the need of being hospitalized. I don't know when I'll get out, but when I do, I'll have A LOT to do, since I've missed plenty of school (not counting the days at the hospital). So sorry! I'll try to update as soon as I organize myself! Thank you for your patience :)


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